STREET SURVIVORS: The True Story Of The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash was scripted and directed by Jared Cohn (Devil's Revenge, Devil's Domain), produced by Brian Perera and co-produced by Tim Yasui for Cleopatra Entertainment. The biopic recreates the story about the ill-fated flight through the eyes of former Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle (who narrates the film), who not only survived the plane crash that claimed the life of the band's founder and front man Ronnie Van Zant amongst others, but who also physically pulled the remaining survivors out of the plane wreckage before staggering towards the nearest farmhouse in rural Louisiana to seek help. Pyle also contributes original music to the film's soundtrack.
Says Pyle: "This film's story - MY story - is not just about the plane crash but also about my personal relationship with the genius that was Ronnie Van Zant - whom I loved like a brother and still miss to this day."
Cleopatra Entertainment completed an international festival run followed by a domestic theatrical run, which included personal appearances by Artimus Pyle, who introduced the film and participated in Q&As with the audience. Pyle also performed a live music concert with this band that featured the hit songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd. A worldwide VOD and home video release which will include a stand-alone official soundtrack CD are coming June 30th via MVD Entertainment Group.
NEW AMERICANA ARTIST TOM SLESS DRAWS HIGH PRAISE FOR ‘ASSURANCE, CRAFT AND CONVICTION’ ON ‘UPLIFTING’ DEBUT ALBUM, ‘CALIFORNIA DREAM’
Live Quarantine Concert Series, California Dream: Melodies and Remedies, Continues Each Wednesday to Also Help Musicians Battle Adversity
California Dream, surveys Sless’s soulful ride down the winding roads of life and love from Jersey Shore and Baltimore roots to Los Angeles with celebratory country rock, nod-and-a-wink humor, and rough-hewn folksiness.
“[California Dream’s] assurance, craft and conviction belie the fact that [Tom]’s a novice or a newcomer of any kind. … Great stuff indeed.” - American Songwriter
Critical acclaim is mounting for LA based Americana singer-songwriter-guitar slingerTOM SLESSas the media continues to discover and embrace his new debut album,California Dream.
Released just as the COVID-19 pandemic in late March forced postponement of live Album Release events at home in Los Angeles and plans to tour across the country, California Dream receives high praise in the current edition of American Songwriter as an “uplifting” work that is “Great stuff, indeed,” offering an “assurance, craft and conviction” that belie Sless’s status as “a novice or a newcomer of any kind.” The song “Astronaut,” the magazine continues, “asks the question, ‘Will anyone remember me?’ Based on the evidence offered here, the answer is an emphatic yes indeed.”
Americana Highways hailed California Dream for its “wealth of good musical touches [with] style & a commercial charm that’s not too sweet,” adding that the “superb rollicking” guitar-driven track “Gimme the Breeze” – also featured in the Los Angeles Post-Examiner and Baltimore Post-Examiner – is “worth the price of the CD” alone. That rock-fueled energy, the review continues, is beautifully countered by the “sweet and dynamic” cut “Too Much On My Mind,”a looping, Grateful Dead-like, exploration of a musical theme driven by the pedal steel of — no relation — Barry Sless (Phil Lesh, Chris Robinson) with “excellent lyrical imagery.”
Midwest Record joyously noted “it’s always a treat to stumble across a singer/songwriter that knows how to make sensitive, personal songs without stooping to bleeding gums music,” adding that Sless “captures the wanderlust” in creating an album that’s “a dandy ear opener throughout.”
Sless likewise earned high marks from New Jersey Stage (“refreshingly honest”), Short and Sweet LA/NYC (“a songwriter not to be deterred” with “an insidious way” of “getting our feet tapping while he delivers lyrics of substance”), and Exclusive Magazine (“[he] immediately gets our attention, and as we progress, his musical messages carry us along on his rich journey”). Elmore Magazine and Nashville.com are among others planning coverage.
With coronavirus consciousness for his fellow musicians and followers in mind, Sless continues his weekly live streaming quarantine concert series “California Dream: Melodies and Remedies” also designed to help battle adversity through music and discussion. The interactive series premieres new episodes every Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific/10 p.m. Eastern on Instagram Live at www.instagram.com/tomsless with on-demand archived episodes at www.soundcloud.com/tomsless.
“California Dream: Melodies and Remedies” includes under-the-hood discussions of the inspiration for each week's featured song from the new album, an interview with a key contributor to the song's production, and an audience-Q&A round table focused on self-help strategies applicable to the pandemic, such as dealing with anxiety, maintaining motivation, and “finding joy in the little things.”
Co-produced by the Jersey Shore native with John Bottrell (Christina Perri, Mike Posner) and recorded live in the studio at comp-ny in Glendale, CA, California Dream carries us along Sless’s soulful ride down the winding roads of life and love with a vibe that alternates between the celebratory country rock of Luke Combs, the nod-and-a-wink humor of Sturgill Simpson, and the rough-hewn folksiness of Donovan Woods. Through canny lyrics and infectious tunes, California Dream capturesSless’s love of LA, the highs and lows of his decision to move there from the Baltimore area after college, and his struggles to embrace the past and push forward. Like Steve Earle, Sless displays bracing honesty in his songwriting, and like Jason Isbell, has a knack for creating a world in which our souls struggle to define themselves. With ceaseless creativity, Sless possesses an ear for the just-right melody and lyric, and a passion for songs that evoke his disappointments, hopes, joys, and loves.
Sless still plans to host album release events on the West Coast and East Coast once the live music terrain gets more clearly defined.
“This album is a huge step toward a realization of myself as an individual and a creative artist,” he says. “It’s a jumping off point into a world in which I can fully express myself as a human being. There truly is no better feeling.”
"As much as has been written about the sixties, it's arguable that no one experienced that defining moment in American history more personally than Phil Ochs" - Steve Earle
Phil Ochs is known primarily as a songwriter; however, his oeuvre extends far beyond that - to short stories, poetry, criticism, journalism and satire
More than a torrent, less than a flood-the songs poured out of Ochs so quickly in the early days of his career that not all were able to find their place on his albums, leaving a fair few in limbo. Some of those "betwixt and between" songs would only emerge decades later and a few have hitherto languished in the archives.
The Warner/Chappell demos which make up the main portion of this new album represent a time period spanning Ochs' last two albums for Elektra: I Ain't Marching Anymore and In Concert, when Phil was finding his full strength as a songwriter and moving to include the lyrical in his repertoire, alongside the topical and satirical.
Songs such as "In the Heat of the Summer" and "Here's to the State of Mississippi" will certainly be familiar to most Phil Ochs fans. Others, like "The Confession" and "I'm Tired" (the latter with subtlety adjusted lyrics) may be known only to those who have the Farewells and Fantasies and A Toast to Those Who are Gone albums, respectively (or perhaps Shawn Phillips' rare cover of "I'm Tired" on his 1965 album for Capitol, Favorite Things).
Readers of Broadside ("the national topical song magazine") issue 69, in April 1966 would have encountered Ochs' "Take It Out of My Youth. However, if they missed that issue, or did not have the rare good fortune to hear Ochs perform it live, then they might never have even been aware of the song. Rather than paying for a drink from a five or ten ("depending upon one's station in life"), Ochs suggests a more personal, and perhaps more draining, means of payment.
"I Wish I Could Have Been Along" is even more obscure-never published in any magazine, with no known live recordings or cover versions. The song ranges from (barely) repressed wanderlust and the desire for experience on the one hand, to introspection and mournfulness on the other (there are times when one can almost hear Ochs sing, "I Wish I Could Have Been Alone," son of "As I Walk Alone" perhaps?). Another line calls to mind an even more famous Ochs song, of similar vintage, "tell me of the changes in your mind."
"Sailors and Soldiers," perhaps partially inspired by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Monument in Riverside Park in New York City-with Phil transposing the armed services, either for the sake of emphasis through unfamiliarity or, perhaps more likely for the sake of how the line would scan, lyrically. In any case, it too was completely unknown before being rescued and covered by the Long Ryder's Sid Griffin with Billy Bragg (Phil fans both) on Griffin's solo album Little Victories in 1997. The words ("far from the planners who sent them to die") cut as deeply today as they did when the song was written.
The bonus tracks delve even more deeply into the Ochs Archives. The version of "The War is Over" from a November 20, 1967 WBAI broadcast, in advance of the protest celebration five days later, features almost entirely divergent lyrics ("all the children play with Gatling guns, tattooed mothers with their tattooed sons") from those of the released version and is a wonderful example of Ochs never being satisfied with the merely clever and well-written, forever polishing to a fine poetic point.
"All Quiet on the Western Front," from 1969, was previously only known from incomplete versions recorded live in New York and Philadelphia (both missing, as though through some conspiracy, the opening verses). Ochs was more economical with his songs later in his career and this is a rare example of a lost song saved from those latter days.
In "No More Songs" we close with a familiar song, but something new-a rehearsal take, replete with comments on what instrumentation and countermelodies Phil envisioned. It is a rare glimpse behind the curtain and a fitting last word from Phil.
I'm Gonna Say It Now: the Writings of Phil Ochs (Backbeat Books, May 2020) compiles damn near all of Phil's non-song works, sourced, in part, from the Ochs Archives at the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Phil is known primarily as a songwriter; however, his oeuvre extends far beyond that - to short stories, poetry, criticism, journalism and satire, all of which are included in this tome.
Spanning foundational texts written while still in school at Staunton Military Academy and Ohio State University-to the music criticism, polemics and satire penned in New York City (appearing in such diverse magazines as Sing Out, Mainstream, The Realist and Hit Parader). Onward, with ringing calls to action, from an absurdist point of view, for the two War Is Over rallies in Los Angeles and New York City-to exploring Phil's more lyrical side, via his poetry (the majority previously unpublished) to, finally, a recapitulation of sorts, in works written in the early 1970's touching on movies, travel (from his private journal), Bruce Lee and, dare we say it... Impeachment and the fate of presidents.
It's been a while since we have heard from singer/songwriter/actor Jay Jacobson. His last album "The Ride" was released in 2014. It produced an acclaimed animated video for the single "I Lived." Jay also starred in his own successful and acclaimed one man show "Mental Creatures" that he performed at The Lounge Theater in Hollywood. So where in the world has Jay been? Well you are about to find out!
MS: How's "The Ride" been since 2014? You've been pretty quiet since then.
JJ: Unfortunately, not by choice. I was nearing the end of recording my next CD, “Travelogue”, when I came down with a rare auto-immune disease. I’ve been on heavy medications, and couldn’t really function. I’m now in the process of reducing my medications, and starting to somewhat function again. The goal is to keep the disease in remission and get back to functioning normally. It’s been quite “a ride”, pun intended.
MS: Well you are back with a quite timely single "These Troubled Times" give some insight into the creation of it.
JJ: Almost all of my songs reflect what I’m experiencing as I go through my life. I can actually see my journey if I look at my CDs one by one. I came to a point, just before COVID, where I felt I needed to say something about the state of the world. I think just about everyone is scared or suffering to some degree, no matter what your political outlook. We’ve gotten so full of greed and anger, and so far from empathy and caring for one another. I felt the need to say something about it.
MS: I cried when I first heard it, while the whole song is great, these lyrics: "A nation stands in need Capitalism has turned to greed, We killed off the dream we had, And threw away the seed" really nailed it.
Hi Jay!
JJ: Thanks! The fact that you were moved is a huge compliment. I certainly hope the song inspires people to be kind, loving and generous. It seems there are definitely more of those qualities appearing, with the quarantines all over the world. I can tell you from being sick, something like that changes one’s perspective as to what’s important in life. And while there are some people who still haven’t gotten in touch with a “bigger” picture of life, it seems like a majority of the world has. This pandemic will definitely change the world and we have a chance to make it a better place. Hopefully, that is how this will play out.
MS: Any plans for a video?
JJ: I’m actually in the process of working on one now. I’m a bit slower at things than I normally am, so it will come out sometime after the song’s release.
MS: Spill the tea, what was it like singing back-up for Liza Minnelli?
JJ: First of all, it was a major thrill to sing with her. I saw her in concert several times in the 1980s and she would make the hairs on my arms stand on end. She is probably one of the greatest live performers of all time. As for working with her, she was always very nice and professional. One thing that surprised me was that she would be smoking while singing during rehearsals. It didn’t seem to affect her singing though, and in the end she delivered an amazing performance, as she always did.
MS: You did a one man musical show "Mental Creatures" that was very successful. Give some 411 on it.
JJ: “Mental Creatures” was definitely one of the highest points in my career and life. It started out as a way to combine my songs with my acting, and I started to write a show around some of my songs. At one point, I suddenly realized I had something to say, and form that point on, the show took on a life of its own. It took four years to write. It was a show about living life fully, no matter what is thrown at you. The degree we can feel happiness, pain, anger, love, and so on, is the degree to which we can be fulfilled. I played 8 characters (or nine?), with no costume changes, and only a chair on stage. I would change my voice and physicality with each character. There were three main characters: a young painter from the south with his first gallery show ever; a middle aged female window, who starts dating again for the first time in years; and an elderly man, moving into a retirement home. The show was narrated by a singer-songwriter. A huge compliment I would often get is that people expected the other characters to come out at the curtain call, forgetting that I played each character. I was shocked night after night, week after week, at the overwhelming reaction. After the show I would be told over and over by people how moved and inspired they were, and many would still be sobbing, and tried but couldn’t speak. It was a huge success, with rave reviews, and I learned a lot by doing that show. It kind of spoiled me as an actor, in that it was in something that had a lot of meaning for me, and I got to play many different characters through their breakdowns and breakthroughs. And I got to sing my songs and connect with an audience. It was magical.
"I Lived"
MS: Ever planning on resurrecting it again?
JJ: I keep getting asked that over and over, usually by people that saw it and want to see it again. I would love to do it again, so if any of your readers knows a theater looking for a one-man-show, definitely let me know! The show was taped, so I do have a record of it. I thought about putting segments on my website, but the sound and lighting aren’t particularly good. it was a filmed play after all.
MS: OK, I know you are a film lover. Which film do you wish you could have done a song for most?
JJ: A film that comes to mind immediately, is “Call Me By Your Name”. There was so much emotion at the end, a perfect set up for a great, emotional, beautiful song. And I did love what Sufjan Stevens came up with.
MS: What actress would you like to work with the most and why?
JJ: Definitely Meryl Streep. She is so present and so great at listening which is key to great acting. I think I’d learn a lot from her. Also Toni Collette, Jessica Lange or Saoirse Ronan.
MS: To be, or not to be?
JJ: That is the question. “To be” definitely! Life is filled with hardships, and “troubled times”, but there is so much beauty and love in the world too. Quality of life is determined by how we relate with what it presents us. Nothing ever stays the same and all things, good and bad, eventually pass. Life is a mixed bag, but it is definitely an adventure to be experienced.
MS: Let's do Thai Food again soon.
JJ: I’m totally down for that!!
"These Troubled Times" is out today, check it, and everything Jay at the links below -
What better way to start than with a pair of singles from everyone's favorite crime-fighting superheroes, The Aquabats!.
The first single, "Pajamazon!," is available now and it's the perfect upbeat theme to help get you through these quarantined days.
The band addresses the positives of staying inside while combining sax and trumpets with insanely catchy lyrics.
It's the first taste of The Aquabats' first studio album since 2011 and the family-friendly swinger the world needs.
The band's second single, "No One Wants to Party!" comes out on May 1st and it sees the band trying to figure out why no one wants to party at their place. Could it be the man-bun?
Both singles are from the band's upcoming eighth album, Kooky Spooky...In Stereo, which is scheduled for a summer release and will be available on CD and LP as well.
Led by guitarist / vocalist Gavin Rossdale, alt rockers BUSH were the first post-Nirvana British band to hit it big in America. Of course, they became a hit by playing by the grunge rules -- they had loud guitars, guttural vocals, stop-start rhythms, and extreme dynamics.
Performing to a sold out crowd of 10,000 die hard fans at the MidFlorida Amphitheater in Tampa, during their critically acclaimed 2019 Altimate Tour, this 90 minute performance was filmed in 4K UHD with 15 cameras to capture the show from every angle. Produced by award-winning producer Barry Summers of Rock Fuel Media, the concert features the band's biggest hits including "Machinehead", "Glycerine", "Comedown", "Swallowed", "Everything Zen" and their newest hit song, "Bullet Holes" from the new blockbuster John Wick 3 soundtrack.
This special edition package includes a Blu-ray disc, a standard definition DVD, and a bonus audio CD of the entire concert.
East Coast US Tour Dates WithDEAD KENNEDYSin March + more dates
If an actor or a reality show host can become president and wreak havoc around the world, then surely musicians have a time honored duty of reacting to that and speaking up for regular people. Punk rock legends D.O.A. have decided to do just that. That's why you have the new D.O.A. album: Treason.
Joey Shithead Keithley, Canada's Godfather of Punk, has been getting sick of the dismaying news coming out of world capitals like Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Tehran, Pyongyang etc., so he decided to come up with D.O.A.'s musical reaction to this crap and stand up against corruption, warmongering, racism, sexism and global warming.
So here it is: Treason, it's the band's eighteenth album. It takes off in full frenzy with "All the President's Men" with Keithley exclaiming It's time to put them in the pen. Then D.O.A. quickly launches into a modern punk anthem "Wait Till Tomorrow" a look at the brutal treatment of refugees.
But never lost on D.O.A., is that part of their mantra that is punk rock humor, hence they have spawned: "It Was D.O.A." an uproarious piss take on unsuspecting musicians that will soon learn the tough lessons of the road: the D.O.A. members themselves.
D.O.A.
Of course with an album named Treason you would expect some comment on President Donald Trump. So the Men of Action have taken one of their all-time classics and come up with new lyrics. They have reworked "Fucked Up Ronnie" and the result is "Fucked Up Donald" and it's a blistering 73 seconds of mayhem!
Along the way Treason flips the corrupt system the bird with wild tunes like: "Gonna Set You Straight," "Just Got Back From the USA" and "It's Treason." There's also an absolutely ripping version of fellow Canadian Neil Young's "Hey Hey My My" where D.O.A. takes a unique approach that has anguish and fire at the same time.
On Treason D.O.A pulls no punches and nor should they. What you get is an uncontrollable punk rock riot that seems to breathe fire, the way punk was meant to be.
Acetate Records unleashes Junkyard's previously unreleased 1992 album "Old Habits Die Hard" on November 22!
"Junkyard is not a band from the 80s. Junkyard is not a band from the 90s. Junkyard is pure kick-ass bar-hopping motorcycle-ridin' rock n roll that seems as relevant today as when they first started." - Riki Rachtman
Junkyard opens the vault and blows the dust off a killer collection of recordings slated as the follow up to 1991's "Sixes, Sevens and Nines." Guitarist Brian Baker's (Bad Religion, Minor Threat) opening riff serves up the concoction of raucous, bittersweet, bloozy rock that follows. Loose and tight in good measure, with stomping beats and dual guitars zigzagging around David Roach's raspy howl... make no bones about it - this band could play.
The strut and swagger of "Pushed You Too Far" and the soulful "Tried & True" are balanced by the slow, dirge of "Blue Sin" and the melancholic duet "Hangin' Around With My Dreams." "Old Habits" recalls everything from Sticky Fingers-era Stones and ZZ Top to the Ramones and Lynyrd Skynyrd (who they toured with in '91). More than anything else, though, it sounds like Junkyard.
Back in 1992, Junkyard was a well-oiled machine, their previous two releases performed well, they had multiple videos in rotation on MTV, and successful club and arena tours under their belt. Looking to infuse more of their musical sensibilities into their third effort, they began writing and recording and in a short few months, they had compiled over 20 songs. The new material reflected more of their alt/punk roots, which wasn't much of a directional change considering their strong punk pedigree.
But the major label's rush to jump on the next "popular music trend" quickly led to Junkyards demise. "At this point, Nirvana's "Nevermind" album had been out a few months and we all kinda knew which way the wind was blowing," singer David Roach recalls, "we didn't really 'officially' break up as a band, it was as simple as the party's over." So, with zero fanfare, the band members signed their release paperwork from Geffen (a whopping 2 page fax), gathered their gear and parted ways... the tapes were left to gather dust in the vaults.
Twenty years later, Geffen re-released the first two Junkyard albums and once again, the band was in demand. Tours of Japan and Europe followed, including a headlining slot at Serie Z Festival in Spain, and the band started writing again. In early 2017, Junkyard released "High Water", their first full-length album in 26 years on LA indie, Acetate Records. The album peaked at 24 on Billboard's Hard Rock Charts and Junkyard once again played to packed houses across America and Europe. With the band back in form, it seemed like the right time to dust of the tapes.
"Old Habits Die Hard" pretty well summarizes where the band was at the time," Roach continues, "The addition of Tim Mosher (yes, way back then) brought another element to what Chris Gates and I had been doing. So it was the hard rock, blues, southern thing plus some more melodic and punk which was also a natural course considering where we came from."
"During the months we recorded these songs we were in various stages of dealing with Geffen. Trying to write a single, but also trying to not care and write for ourselves. The songs indicate the direction we were ultimately not able to take until all these years later."
"Old Habit's Die Hard" will be released via streaming, CD and 'Beer' colored vinyl on November 22, 2019. A limited number of signed LPs will also be available via acetate.com.
